Extra Terrestrial fittings

I've a house full today. My niece is currently having a jollibob with us, we picked her up after our whirlwind tour of the South last week. All's well (albeit I'll probably speak too soon) we've Barbie going on in one room and Scaletrix in the other (I'm very proud of myself for setting it up, minus Mr Beehive!)In the utility room I've shut a whining dog who is feeling sorry for himself that he's not allowed to escape and sniff the crotches of the random youths I have wandering around muttering stuff like "do you have a box?" "where's the attic?" and other technicalities that make my blood run cold (the luddite in me!). Red is also very cross that he has to sit in with the washing machine on full, something he hates so much that he'll bring his dinner in to eat on the kitchen floor one biscuit at a time if it's running at dinner time! The random youths (although the one that's deffo over 60 will be please he's hit the random youths category!) are fitting satellite stuff, so they'll soon realise that I'm as much use as a chocolate teapot and will stop with all the stupid questions ;-))

Whilst this is all going on, I'm trying to get holiday washing done, clear up exploded elderflower champagne from the garage floor, plant two apple trees and force my rhubarb with a cloche to see if something might come of the stump that promised rhubarb on the tag, finish the big boyo's trousers and the little lady's dress and find where the fook I left my sanity.....wonder if it's in the attic?!

It's been too long!

It has, it really has. In fact, i have spent whaaaay too much time reading other people's blogs than updating my own!

I also think I probably need to rename this blog, although, for those of you in the US I still AM across the pond, so...maybe it'll stay, what do you think?

So, what have I been up to?
The garden is starting to really flourish. We're still in rented accomodation so right now digging the ground is out of bounds (as is my dream of the chooks, but it'll come!).



We've currently got raspberries, strawberries, squash, spuds, gooseberries, blueberries and redcurrant plants. None of them are giving us high yield this year, but I hold out for a good crop next summer. All the things are grown in containers still, I am master of container gardening *sigh*.
I am also currently trying to persuade some strawberry runners to take and have taken a cutting from my gorgeous aubergine coloured passion flower for mum - hope it takes!
In the craft department, after having moved it all back from the US and realising that my stash was needing a room all of it's own I decided to get my arse into gear and work on the projects I've had hidden away. All was well and good until I got out my sewing machine that I'd stored in mum's roof since we left for Belgium in 2004, to discover the bobbin case was missing. Unfortunately I cocked up the order for a new one, so I'm still waiting to get a replacement. Hopefully this week. In the interim though, I've cut out and pinned most of the projects, so it'll just be a case of putting the sewing machine on acid when the case finally arrives or borrowing my mum's when I go down next week.

This is some spotty polka dot I picked up yesterday in the second hand shop for 6 quid, so this will make LMB a cute sundress and headscarf or scrunchie or something.



This was my bargain buy of fleece from Walmart in the US. It's so soft too. This is going to be a playmat, I'm going to pad it and line it and make a tie for it so it can be rolled up and stored.More of the bargain fleece made into sweaters for LMB and her cousin. I just drew around an existing sweatshirt that MB the elder had to get the basic outline for the pattern. Unfortunately there wasn't enough left to make a hood, well, not without changing my mind about the playmat... It's currently pinned and inside out, it's not meant to be seams outside!



LMB's new party dress. I am going to add a small underskirt with the red cotton and tule just to make it look a little more fifties.


This is the start of a new cardi for the little miss taken from a Sirdar pattern. The main cardi will be the pink colouring. I started the scallopping with pink but then decided it needed a more solid colour at the base, so began again with the green, I think it looks much better this way around, but I am now wondering whether or not to do the rest of the cardigan in the green rather than the pink, although I know which the little miss will prefer!

Finally I have just ordered a load of great fabric from here that I'm going to make up into lunchbags for September for my lot and my niece and nephew. I'm going to borrow this pattern I am sampling some waterproof fabrics for the inner though as I am thinking that leaking yoghurt or sandwich mush will make a nasty mess of the fabric unless I try to protect it a bit. I'll keep you updated on the end results.